Aberration (The Flash)

Never Mind What I Want.

As soon as Gideon took off, I was back in 2016 in Central City.

"He better not be pulling a Juliet." Cisco said as I popped up next to Harry.
Turtle was dead in his cell.
"Yeah that's right. I see plays." Cisco said.
"He's dead, Cisco." Caitlin said.
"How'd this happen?" Harry and I asked at the same time.

"Preliminary brain scan shows an acute brain aneurysm." Caitlin said.
"The night we captured him. How's that for timing?" Jay asked.

"What does that mean? You think I did this, Garrick? This man is the key to stopping Zoom. The key to me saving my daughter. Why would I want that?" Harry asked.

"Never understood why you do anything, Harrison." Jay snidded back.
"That's fine with me, Garrick." Harry replied.
"Guys, look. We need to figure out how to stop Zoom. Everything we've tried so far has failed. We need to start thinking outside the box. I mean, we haven't even figured out how to close the breaches yet. Maybe that's where we should start." Barry suggested.
"That's a good idea. I'll get on that." Harry said, walking away.
"I'll help." Cisco said, following after him.

Barry's phone buzzed.

"I've gotta get to the CCPD. I'll check in with you guys later." Barry said, then left.

As soon as I got out of my shower, Cisco yelled over the intercom for me to get to Mercury Labs. Barry was already on his way.

When I got there, I stood in front of Dr. McGee, protecting her, and facing the Reverse Flash.
"Flash. Sidekick." Eobard said, not knowing who I was.
"Eobard Thawne." I said in awe.
"You know who I am?" Eobard asked.
"You died!" Barry exclaimed.
"Good to know. And guess what, Flash? I know what time period you're from. So that mean, very soon, you will die." Eobard said, then he rushed at Barry. Then he socked me in the eye, which still hurt from the biker punching me.

Barry was punched to the ground, and when we recovered Dr. McGee was gone.

"You okay Barr?" Joe asked.
"I'm good. Yeah, it's just a lot." Barry replied.
"Eddie Thawne died, so Eobard Thawne should've been erased out of existence, right?" Joe asked.

"Not necessarily. It is possible Eobard was in the Speed Force, protecting him like a bomb shelter, keeping him alive and his timeline intact. It's what's known as a timeline remnant." Harry said, sighing.
"A... A what now?"" Joe asked.

"Here. Let me show you. Excuse me." Harry said, moving me from the glass board that stood behind me.

"This, this is now." Harry began after Cisco tossed him a marker.

"Here. Today. This is the time Thawne comes from. This is the moment you all erased him from existence, but since Thawne is from the future, this is where his timeline begins. That's why he's still alive. This Thawne has not yet traveled back in time to kill Barry's mother, he's here, now, in this time period, for the first time, timeline remnant." Harry explained.
"Explains why nothing's changed." Cisco said.
"Yeah, it also explains why he didn't know my name, or that we have met before." Barry said.

"To him, you hadn't. Not until the future." Harry said.
"If Thawne dies before he can time travel again, will that save Barry's mother?" Joe asked.
"No. That's not how it works. In her timeline, Barry's mother's already dead, and her death is a fixed point. Nothing can change that." Harry said.

"If and when time catches up to him, will he be erased?" I asked.
"More or less. If the Speed Force wasn't keeping Thawne alive, then yes." Harry said.

"Oh." I said.

"So, wait. When 2017 rolls around, Anna's gonna die?" Cisco asked.
"More or less." I said, repeating Harry's words.
"All right, well, I'm gonna end this. Him. In this time, once and for all." Barry declared.
"Let's find Dr. McGee, then we'll figure out what to do about Thawne. Okay?" Joe asked.
"I gotta go check on Iris." Joe said, excusing himself.